This paper explores teacher collaborations as a means of development of in-service teachers. I examine cases of teacher collaboration in China, Cambodia, and Vietnam, in order to address following questions: (i) How does teacher collaboration enhance or hinder development of in-service teachers? (ii) What implications can be drawn from these cases for making teacher collaborations more effective?
I first explore the “ethos” of the teaching occupation as articulated by Lortie, namely individualism, presentism, and conservatism, which prevent teachers from sharing knowledge and collective grow of teachers. Teacher collaboration is recognized as a way to break the ethos and there exist initiatives to use teacher collaboration as a means of teacher learning. I examine how initiatives to enforce teacher collaboration have actually impacted the ethos and teacher learning, by reviewing papers on Chinese jiaoyanzu, Cambodian Thursday Meeting, and Vietnamese Lesson Study approach. As documented by Wheeler, Cambodian Thursday Meeting has produced mixed results: Sometimes it strengthens ethos rather than enhancing collaborative teacher learning. Chinese and Vietnamese cases, in contrast, have effectively challenged the ethos of teaching occupation and enhanced teacher learning through collaboration. Based on these findings, I identified three important characteristics that make teacher collaborations more effective in terms of teacher learning, as well as of their teaching practices and consequent students’ learning: a) collaborations need to take place closer to the classrooms teachers teach, b) collaborative culture needs to be created, and c) the existence of experts enhances effective teacher collaborations.

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Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: This paper explores teacher collaborations as a means of development of in-service teachers. I examine cases of teacher collaboration in China, Cambodia, and Vietnam, in order to address following questions: (i) How does teacher collaboration enhance or hinder development of in-service teachers? (ii) What implications can be drawn from these cases for making teacher collaborations more effective?
I first explore the “ethos” of the teaching occupation as articulated by Lortie, namely individualism, presentism, and conservatism, which prevent teachers from sharing knowledge and collective grow of teachers. Teacher collaboration is recognized as a way to break the ethos and there exist initiatives to use teacher collaboration as a means of teacher learning. I examine how initiatives to enforce teacher collaboration have actually impacted the ethos and teacher learning, by reviewing papers on Chinese jiaoyanzu, Cambodian Thursday Meeting, and Vietnamese Lesson Study approach. As documented by Wheeler, Cambodian Thursday Meeting has produced mixed results: Sometimes it strengthens ethos rather than enhancing collaborative teacher learning. Chinese and Vietnamese cases, in contrast, have effectively challenged the ethos of teaching occupation and enhanced teacher learning through collaboration. Based on these findings, I identified three important characteristics that make teacher collaborations more effective in terms of teacher learning, as well as of their teaching practices and consequent students’ learning: a) collaborations need to take place closer to the classrooms teachers teach, b) collaborative culture needs to be created, and c) the existence of experts enhances effective teacher collaborations.